Jeffrey Epstein kept a bizarre painting of Bill Clinton on prominent display in his New York townhouse, it was reported on Thursday. Epstein’s $ 77 million (£63.5m) home in the Upper East Side – the largest private home in the City, with 40 rooms over seven floors – was described by the young girls he allegedly abused as being full of surreal and intimidating art. Among the most unusual of works is an oil painting of Mr Clinton, dressed in a blue dress similar to the infamous one worn by Monica Lewinsky, and wearing red stilettos. Mr Clinton is shown lounging in a chair in the Oval Office, and leering at the camera. The painting was spotted by a visitor to the house in October 2012. Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan town house The art work, dubbed Parsing Bill, was painted and sold by a New York-based Australian artist named Petrina Ryan-Kleid. The two men were friends in the 2000s, with Mr Clinton taking four trips on Epstein’s private jet as part of his work with the Clinton Foundation. These trips, accompanied once by actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker, sparked a surge of interest in the mysterious Gatsby-esque Epstein. “Jeffrey is both a highly successful financier and a committed philanthropist with a keen sense of global markets and an in-depth knowledge of 21st-century science,” said Mr Clinton, through a spokesman, in 2002. “I especially appreciated his insights and generosity during the recent trip to Africa to work on democratisation, empowering the poor, citizen service and combating HIV/Aids.” Mr Clinton also met the financier at his New York home, although he never visited Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico, waterfront home in Florida or his private island in the Caribbean. Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump, pictured at Mar-a-Lago in 1997 The pair appeared to grow apart, however, and were not seen together in Epstein’s later years, after he was charged by police in Florida in 2005 for prostitution of a minor. A spokesman for Mr Clinton said after Epstein’s July 6 arrest that the former president was completely unaware of Epstein’s “terrible crimes” and hasn’t spoken to the ultrawealthy sex offender in “well over a decade”. Some speculated that Epstein’s decision to hang the ghoulish painting was in response to his being “dumped” by his former friend. Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photo taken for the NY Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry Epstein was known for his eyebrow-raising tastes in furnishings. A life-size female doll, hanging from a chandelier, greeted his guests as they arrived. At the bottom of the staircase is a chess board, with each of its customized figurines modelled after one of his staffers and “dressed suggestively,” a visitor told The New York Times. The entrance hall as decorated with “row upon row of individually framed eyeballs, imported from England,” Vanity Fair reported in 2003. The same article described how Epstein kept a stuffed black poodle in his study, placed on top of a grand piano. “I want people to think what it means to stuff a dog,” Epstein told the magazine.

A 79-year-old woman has been sentenced to 10 days in jail for feeding the stray cats she said brought her comfort and companionship.Nancy Segula, of Ohio, began feeding the cats about two years ago when they were left behind after her neighbour moved."There's been about six to eight adult cats and now there's kittens coming over, too," Ms Segula told cleveland.com."I miss my own kitties. They passed away, my husband passed away. I'm lonely. So the cats and kitties outside help me."Garfield Heights Municipal Court magistrate Jeffrey Short handed Ms Segula the 10-day sentence after she received more than $ 2,000 in fines, Fox 8 Cleveland reported.Under a city ordinance, it is illegal to feed stray dogs and cats in Garfield Heights.Mr Short was covering for Judge Jennifer Weiler on the day of the sentencing. She told the Washington Post she would like to hear all sides of the case with everyone in the room, including the defendant and her lawyer, the prosecutor and a representative from animal control, to decide whether the jail sentence is fair."I'll try to find out what's going on, what's happening and then try and make a decision that makes sense for the circumstances," Ms Weiler said.Ms Segula said she did not know there was a city ordinance against feeding cats, Fox 8 reported."The cats keep coming over to my house," she said. "I just feel bad so then I will give them something to eat."Segula's son, Dave Pawlowski, was in disbelief when his mother told him about the sentence."I'm sure people hear about the things that happen downtown in that jail," Mr Pawlowski told Fox 8. "And they are going to let my 79-year-old mother go there?"Ms Segula was told to appear at the Cuyahoga County Jail on 11 August.

Operating in secrecy in a nondescript glass-and-concrete office, the team of prosecutors and investigators since May 2017 has unearthed secrets that have led to bombshell charges against several of President Donald Trump’s aides, including his former national security adviser, campaign chairman and personal lawyer, who have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury. To protect those secrets from prying ears, the whole of the office suite in southwest Washington has been designated a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), U.S. spy speak for an area that has restrictions to ensure secret information stays secure. The restrictions, while not surprising given the team was investigating whether a hostile foreign power tried to help Trump win the 2016 election and whether his campaign conspired in the effort, have not been previously reported.

A serial killer who has admitted eight murders was in the middle of another killing when police knocked on his door, a court has heard. Bruce McArthur, who killed eight gay men over seven years, had taken another intended victim back to his apartment in Toronto, Canada. When they arrived, they found McArthur had chained the man – identified in court only as John – to a four-poster bed and placed a black bag over his head.

BARRON, Wis. (AP) — For nearly three months, 13-year-old Jayme Closs was forced to hide in a 2½-foot space beneath her kidnapper's bed, going without food, water or a bathroom for hours, too terrified to flee from a man she knew had fatally shot both of her parents.